Level 14 - Desecrated Temple of Vol

Quest Giver: Holton Kisane in the northern Necropolis camp
Level: 14 Party
Patron: The Silver Flame (6/12/18)
Length: long
Entry Point: South Eastern Orchard of the Macabres
Prereqs: none
Recommended Party: standard, no disarmable trap, optional locked door (50+dc)
Base Experience: 5,344
Quest Info:
--Creatures: shadows, clay golems, vampires, wheeps, quells, bats, maruts
--Traps: blade and flaming darts, closing doors.

Walkthrough:

DM text upon entering the quest- This once magnificent Temple of Vol was ravaged by the Black Abbot’s forces. Centuries ago, the Black Abbot sealed those who remained faithful to Vol deep in the catacombs of this temple. The wails at night indicate something somehow survived.

Drop down into the temple. In the middle you will see the seal made by the Black Abbot. On either side of the seal is a lockbox and a lever. Pulling the levers will reveal doors to either side of the hall. The halls are filled with whirring blades and flaming darts, at the end of which is a chest containing a gold key on one side, and a silver key on the other. They will each open one of the warding lockboxes. Each person who opens a chest gets a key. The passage on the left is easier to get through the traps, just have to take a quick dip underwater to get there. Have two people go this way, one being a high AC type. Deathward and Fireresist are very benificial throughout this quest, and both chests are guarded by shadows and quells, so buff up before you go for the keys.

Open the lock boxes on either side of the pit. This lowers the seal and allows you to drop down. At the bottom will be a room of clay golems, smite or beat them down. Next, a group of three quells will attack. One is red named. Watch out for firewalls, acid fogs and otto's irresistable dance (the 8th level version). Once you defeat the three quells, you can enter into the vampire's hallways.

The halls are filled with vampires and bats, shadows and wheeps will pop from the ground as you go. If you break the sacrificial urns, shadows will pop out. You must move through the hallways and destroy the random location vampiric priests of vol. Some of the halls may close behind you. Which gates close is randomly generated. Also, the shadows in this temple are immune to Firewall, (Cheap dev update to avoid a simplifying player tactic.) so you will need to deal with the shadows with other means.

A couple of things of note while you clear the halls of vampires: first, there is a chest that can spawn in any room in the vampire halls (dev update: the chest will no longer always spawn, just sometimes), so keep an eye out for it. Second, down the hall across from the shrine is a secret door. When you open it, four wheeps will attack, and it will reveal a locked door. On the other side of the locked door is a portal that will take you to another plane, with bad side affects for curing magic. Go through and defeat the maruts. When the maruts are dead it will send you back to the temple of vol, a chest now sitting in the room. This chest has a chance to drop pieces of the Shield. Note: if there are any dead party members when the last marut is slain, there will be no way to get back to them. Their soul is trapped back where they died.

After you have completed the vampire slaying, finding your chest, and optional maruts, return back to the entry to the vampire halls. Talk to the High Priest to begind the last encounter. A simple tactic is to fill the room with firewalls, and when all of the highpriests bodyguards attack, they will find themselves burning in an inferno. Collect your last chest, this one will perhaps have a piece of the Sigil, then return home for your end reward.

End Reward: Standard